Mockingbird Don't Sing
by cellie6135
Summary: AU. This is the story of Sonic Maurice, the one they called 'The Wild Child', locked in a world alone. It is a journey through the hard realities of life. It is the story about his special bond with the man who will stand by him as he dares to hope for the love he never had...
1. The Wild Child

**Chapter 1: The Wild Child**

In the city of Station Square it was raining hard.

People were going about their own business whether it was laughing with friends or just doing what they please, completely unaware that in a small house near the edge of the city something horrifying was happening.

In fact it had been happening for nearly 15 long years.

For in this house lived a man with his wife and daughter; and another soul...

* * *

Jules Maurice was 47 year old hedgehog with cobalt blue fur, brown hair and blue eyes. He had a great job as a bartender and lived in a nice neighbourhood with his family.

What people didn't know was that Jules wasn't a very nice man.

His wife's name was Bernadette, or just Bernie for short. She had lavender fur, blonde hair and blue eyes. She use to work at a hair salon. Unfortunately, not long after her daughter's 5th birthday she suddenly became blind due to a genetic disease she inherited from her mother and it cost Bernie her job.

She wasn't aloud to leave the house unless Jules was with her at all times.

Sonia Maurice was Jules and Bernie's 18 year old daughter with beautiful fuschia pink fur, pink hair in a style of curly spikes and a full fringes, peach skin and blue eyes.

Sonia worked in a music video store in the mall.

She didn't really care about what other people wanted and only cared about was saving enough money to move to California and becoming a DJ and to get away from her father.

Finally, the last person in this house was Jules and Bernie's second child, Sonic Maurice was 14 years old going on 15.

Sonic was a hedgehog with blue fur that covered most of his body, peach skin that covers his arms, muzzle and torso, and emerald-green eyes. He had six quills on his head, two spines protruding from his back and a short tail.

No one but Jules, Bernie and Sonia knew of Sonic's existence.

When he was a toddler, Jules locked his only son in the back room and tied his hands and feet to a chair during the day and at night Sonic would be tied to his small bed, Jules had ordered the girls never to talk or see him.

He was tied up in that room ever since.

So with little contact aside from his father coming in to feed him or his older sister sneaking in before Jules got home to feed him a cookie, Sonic never learned to speak or even walk...

* * *

In the Maurice Family House, Bernie was sat on the couch listening to the TV, Sonia was listening to music on her phone while reading a teen magazine and Sonic was heading to the back room with a bowl of baby food in his hand as he stomped down the hall to his son's 'room'.

When he entered he saw Sonic tied to the chair, staring at the pages of a story book Sonia had given him about children's fairy tales.

Jules glared as he smacked the book out of Sonic's hand and started forcing the food down his son's mouth.

"Swallow." He growled as the blue hedgehog struggled to down the soggy food.

"SWALLOW!" He shouted again, but this time Sonic nearly choked on the food and coughed it up on his father's chest and Jules finally snapped. He dunked his hand in the food and started to rub it against the boy's face.

 **"BET YOUR HAPPY NOW YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SHIT!"** He yelled as he smacked Sonic across the face over and over again.

As he continued his assault on his son, Bernie tried to drown out her son's screams in pain by covering her ears with her hands while Sonia turned her music up, but Sonic still kept on screaming...

* * *

Soon things had quieted down a bit, Sonic was now tied to the bed with his face red, sore and still covered in baby food.

Sonia was fast asleep in her sleeping bag on the floor, Bernie was lying on the sofa not daring to move and Jules was sat in his usual chair messing with a pistol.

"Jules, you promised me." Bernie whispered faintly, slowly lifting her head to her husband.

Jules didn't even pay any attention to her and continued to mess with his gun.

"You promised me that if Sonic lived passed the age of 12 then we could get him some help." She said. Jules smiled at his wife and aimed his gun at her, luckily for her it wasn't loaded.

"Bang." He laughed as she flinched when she heard the gun click...

* * *

The next morning Jules went straight to work, leaving his wife and children home alone. Once she was sure he was really gone, Bernie grabbed her walking stick and knocked Sonia awake.

The two girls quickly ran to Sonic's cell.

"He's going to kill me, you know that right?! I'm as good as dead!" Sonia glared as she uncuffed Sonic and lifted him out the crib.

"Just tell him you don't know where we are, you woke up and we were both gone." Bernie replied as Sonia stripped Sonic naked and changed him into some clean clothes.

"Oh yeah, and how did you get away?! You can't do anything for yourself!"

"I-I don't know, you'll have to think of something!"...


	2. Discovery

**Chapter 2: Discovery**

It felt like forever, but Bernadette and Sonic finally made it to the city hall. It had take so long because of Bernie's blindness and Sonic clinging to her back as they both limped down the streets.

After entering the city hall, Bernie walked up to a desk.

"Is this where you handle the blind?" She whimpered as Sonic's grip tightened in fear.

"No miss, this is Social Services, if you just go back there you should find it." The lady at the desk smiled.

"Um, could you lead me there? I've got cataracts and the woman on the phone said I could come down here and claim some benefits." She said but what she didn't know was that the lady was staring at her son.

The teen was dirty, frail, skinny and was the size of a seven year old.

"Who's that with you?" She asked and Sonic quickly hid behind his mother in terror.

"That's my son Sonic."

"How old are you Sonic?"

"He'll be fifteen in June." Bernie quickly replied and the lady at the desk looked at her in horror...

* * *

Within an hour Bernadette and Jules Maurice were arrested and taken down to the police station, where they were photographed and fingerprinted. Their son was taken away and Sonia ran away to a friends house.

After getting released on bail Jules got in his car and drove home.

He decided to turn on the radio and froze.

 _ **"Officials in Station Square have taken custody of a 14 year old boy who they say was kept in such isolation by his parents that he never even learned to talk or walk. The boy was still wearing diapers and was making infant-like noises when the police found him earlier today."**_

 _ **"Sonic Maurice is currently being treated at Children's Hospital for malnutrition and the doctor's are still hoping he still has a normal learning capacity."**_

 _ **"His parents are free on bail tonight and will be facing charges in what people are calling the worse case of child abuse they have ever seen and because of his inability to walk or speak the people have given him the title 'Wild Child'."**_

Jules quickly turned off the radio and placed his head on the steering wheel, sobbing...

* * *

The next day, Bernie was taken to court for the crime of child abuse. As her lawyer lead her into the court house a swarm of journalists pounced on them with flashing cameras and firing questions at her.

"Mrs Maurice is a victim of her domineering husband, that is all we have to say on the matter." Her lawyer said before slamming the door in their face.

They two Mobians quietly entered the courtroom. They took their seats as everyone in the galley whispered and talked among themselves.

"All rise!" The court officer called as the judge walked in and everyone quickly stood up.

"Be seated." Another court officer said and everyone sat back down.

"State versus Bernadette Hedgehog, you are charged with wilful, gross neglect of a minor placed in your custody, how do you plead?"

"I plead not guilty your honour."...

* * *

Meanwhile, Jules was cooped up in the now empty house. He didn't know where his wife or daughter were and he knew that no one in their right mind would let him near his son.

He was all alone.

Just then he heard a car pulling up outside his house. He took a peek through the blinds and saw a journalist getting out of the car and waiting for him to leave the house.

Jules quickly backed away from the window.

He gritted his teeth and ran his hand through his quills as he paced around the living room. He didn't know what to do anymore. All he wanted was for the pain to go away.

Suddenly he stopped and his eyes dulled.

He silently laid a plastic tarp on the floor as more cars pulled up outside his house. He wrote something down on a piece of paper and placed it neatly on a table next to a framed picture.

Once that was done he went into his room and grabbed his pistol.

He calmly stood on the plastic tarp and placed the barrel at his forehead. But lust seconds before he pulled the trigger he took a quick glance to the note on the coffee table.

 _ **-THE WORLD WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND**_...


	3. The Hospital

**Chapter 3: The Hospital**

Shadow Doom sighed in boredom as he and his friend Rouge Valentine waited in the lobby of the Children's Hospital in Station Square. The two of them were scientists.

He was a hedgehog and Rouge was a bat.

They were both around twenty four years old. He had black fur with bright crimson red stripes on his quills, around the edges of his eyes and on his arms and legs.

He had red eyes, a patch of white fur on his chest, and his muzzle is tan.

He had six quills on his head, four of which curve upwards and two that curve downwards. Shadow wore a tight, dark red turtle neck and black leather pants and two gold rings around his wrists.

He had a lip piercing and three hoop piercings in his left ear.

Rouge was a white bat with teal eyes. Her muzzle and torso were somewhat tanned. Her dark wings were dark purple. Her short white hair flared out at the back and she wore blue eye shadow and pink lipstick.

She wore dark, skintight pants and a black shirt with a pink, heart with white trim printed on it.

She also wore tall white gloves and boots with pink cuffs. Her white boots were high heeled and featured hearts on the toes. She wore plenty of jewellery from rings to necklaces.

Just then another scientist named Silver Solaris walked over to them.

Silver was a very light grey hedgehog with white fur on his chest surrounding his neck with yellow eyes and tan skin. He also had cyan circles on the back of his hands.

He wore a cyan shirt, black pants and tall black boots.

They followed Silver to a small room with a giant display window and door that led to another large room full of children's toys, puzzles, games and bright colours.

On one of the chairs was a fox with two tails that looked in his late teens and at the other side of the room was Sonic.

He was out of those rags and now wore a hospital gown but he still had dark circles around his eyes and when he walked he took only baby steps and waddled like a penguin.

He was also skinny as a stick

He was currently sat on the ground playing with a brown teddy bear. The fox smiled softly at him as he gently encouraged him to play with other toys and games.

"That's Sonic's therapist Miles Prower; he's been trying to teach Sonic knew words."

"He's beautiful, like a little sapphire." Rouge muttered as she started at the frail teen as he ran his fingers through the bars fur. "I was expecting... I-I don't know." She admitted.

Silver nodded in response.

"Well how many words has he learned?" Shadow asked as he watched Miles try to talk to Sonic but the hedgehog seemed to be too occupied playing with the teddy.

The hedgehog suddenly leaned forward and picked up a rubber ducky.

"Miles claims he's heard him use some words like 'Mama' and 'Dada' and I've heard him use some colours; we gathered that he learned those before he was locked away, but so far he hasn't picked up any new ones." Silver sighed.

Rouge glared as she thought about the boy's parents.

"Would you like to go in?" The ivory hedgehog asked with a smile. Rouge and Shadow slowly nodded, not taking their eyes off the skinny boy.

"Oh, and remember, don't speak loudly and if gets all up in your face just let him do what he wants." Silver quickly reminded them and with that the door opened and they stepped inside.

The fox and the hedgehog didn't seem to notice them.

"Do you like the ducky? Sonic what colour is that?" Miles asked as Sonic played with the duck. "Sonic, do you know the colour? It's yellow, like me, and you blue, aren't you?"

Shadow smiled a little as they watched.

"Sonic, do you remember me?" The teen's head shot up when he heard Silver's voice. "I'm Silver and I've brought two friends with me." He smiled but Sonic just stared at him.

He turned to Shadow and Rouge and nodded.

"Hi honey, I'm Rouge." The bat smiled as they walked up to him and knelt down next to him. "And this is my friend Shadow, we're very happy to meet you sweetie."

Sonic suddenly reached out his hands and started to mess with Shadow's quills.

While Silver and Miles smiled Rouge had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Shadow didn't dare move as the teen went from feeling his quills to his face...

* * *

Later that day the four Mobians and Sonic were sat in the hospital cafeteria eating some lunch. While they tried to eat their own food Sonic kept ramming the crackers he had been given into his mouth, hardly chewing any of them.

Shadow and Rouge looked at the other two in confusion

"Apparently his father didn't give him enough time to chew his food so Sonic waits for it to break down in his mouth." Miles explained. Shadow glared at his plate while Rouge looked at the boy sadly.

Suddenly one of the dinner ladies walked up to them holding a plastic green bucket.

"Hey sugar pie, I've got a little present for you." She said sweetly and gave Sonic the bucket. The hedgehog quickly grabbed it and started to feel the surface with his fingers.

"How did you know he wanted that?" Silver asked her.

"He told me." She replied as if it was obvious.

"He did?" Shadow asked the lunch lady in confusion. The entire time they had been there they hadn't heard or seen Sonic go up to that lady and ask her for that bucket

"well he didn't use real words but he told me just the same."

With that the lady left and the three scientists stared at Sonic in shock and awe as he smiled and put the bucket up against his face and rub it against his cheeks...


	4. The Day Out

**Chapter 4: The Day Out**

It had been about five days since Shadow and Rouge had first met Sonic in the hospital.

In that time the doctors at the hospital deemed him well enough for him to start attending school. So now Shadow was sat at the back of a classroom full of 2-3 year old and watched Sonic.

At the front of the class was the teacher Amy Rose.

Amy was a 21 year old, pink-furred hedgehog with jade green eyes and peach skin on her muzzle and arms. Unlike other hedgehogs, her spines were not spiky but they were rather worn down like that of ordinary hair.

She wore a red, sleeveless dress with white trims, tall red boots with a white stripe down the centre and white cuffs.

In front of her was a girl with long blonde hair in a wheelchair. Next to the girl was a boy with ginger hair and next to him was Sonic. All three of them were holding small balloons.

"OK Sasha, how many balloons do you have?" Amy asked a small girl.

"Four." Sasha replied.

"And how about you Jack, how many balloons do you have?"

"Three." The boy replied and Sonic looked at the balloons in Jack's hands in confusion.

"I think you want to take another look at those balloons, is it three or is it actually two?" Amy asked with a sweet smile. As Jack thought long and hard Sonic suddenly shoved his balloon into the little boys hands.

Shadow quickly wrote down in his note book.

"Well thanks to Sonic, it's now certainly three." The pink hedgehog chuckled as she stood up and gave Sonic a gentle hug. "Very good Sonic." She whispered as they parted.

"Good." He mimicked.

Shadow's eyes widened. It was the first time he had ever heard Sonic speak. He quickly looked down and wrote it all down in his notebook...

* * *

Soon playtime came around and all the little children were outside playing. Shadow silently watched as Amy showed Sonic how to play with the toy cars in the sandbox.

He then noticed Amy walking over to him.

"Hello Miss Rose, I'm Dr. Shadow Doom." He said calmly and extended his hand towards her.

"So you're the one the hospital has trusted to teach Sonic how to talk?" The teacher laughed coldly. "I would have thought that with the money the government gave them they would get a professional."

"Well they hired me because I have no time constraints or family obligations." He explained.

"No experience." She added with a smirk. "Do you really think that you're actually qualified to teach this boy how to speak?" She mocked as some kids ran around them.

"I'm not here to teach him how to talk, I'm here to document how he goes about acquiring language, there's a huge different." He glared.

"Whatever." The pink hedgehog sneered and walked over to some children who were fighting about something. Shadow glared at her before he went to find Sonic.

He soon found him sat on one of the swings as one of the teachers gave him a small push.

"So Sonic, are you having fun?" He asked as he walked over to the two with a smile. The teacher helped Sonic off the swing and the boy quickly sat down and started playing with a fire engine.

He smiled and held up the fire engine he was playing with.

"Red!" He exclaimed happily to Shadow.

"Yes, that's red." He smiled and sat beside Sonic who was pushing the fire engine back and forth...

* * *

It was Saturday afternoon and Shadow and Miles brought Sonic to a grocery store near the hospital and watched him examine all the different things in the store.

"What you got there Sonic?" Miles asked when he saw Sonic pick up a tin of peas.

"Green." He muttered.

"Very good." Shadow smiled as he carefully took the tin off Sonic and placed the tin back on the shelf. Sonic slowly walked over to a man who was buying different soups.

He suddenly started to pull hard on the man's red coat.

"Oh no Sonic, don't do that!" miles exclaimed as he and Shadow tried to get the blue hedgehog to let go of the man and after three minutes they finally got him off.

But no sooner did they let him go he went over to the butcher section and stared at different meats.

One of the butchers noticed him staring at his meats.

"Hey there." He smiled, recognising Sonic from the TV. "You want this?" He asked and held out a piece of meat.

Sonic quickly took the piece of meat and started to feel the meat in his hand. He started to put it against his lips and rubbed it against his face.

Shadow, Miles and butcher watched him in wonder...

* * *

After they went to the store, Shadow and Miles took Sonic to the park. They played on the swings and the slide then they bought him some blueberry ice cream.

All the time Sonic had a huge smile on his face.

As they walked along the park Miles was talking to Shadow about how well Sonic was doing with the ebony hedgehog asking him questions about Sonic's recovery and development.

However, they both didn't noticed Sonic walk off and he soon found himself in front of a Rottweiler.

Suddenly the dog started snarling and barking at him and Sonic's eyes widened in fear saw something playing out in his mind.

 ** _(Flashback)_**

 _A terrified 5 year old Sonic Maurice was sat and strapped down to his potty chair in his cell. His father was kneeling down in front of him on his hands and knees._

 _"Grrrrr!" He growled._

 _Sonic had tears in his eyes as he shook in terror._

 _His father kept snarling at the boy and lunging at him again and again..._

 ** _(End Flashback)_**

"AAAAHHHHH!"

Shadow and Miles suddenly jumped and quickly turned around to see Sonic curled up on the ground, cowering in fear as the large dog continued barking louder.

"Sonic!" Miles cried.

When he and Shadow got to him they saw he was mercilessly clawing his arms until they started to bleed. Shadow quickly grabbed his arms and Miles tried to pull the dog away...


	5. Quarantine

**Chapter 5:** **Quarantine**

After the horrifying dog issue the doctors decided to run some tests on Sonic's brain to see just how much his brain had suffered from his father's horrible years of abuse.

Sonic was hooked up to different machines and wires to monitor his brainwaves while he slept

In the other room was Shadow, Miles, Rouge, Silver watching him from a nearby window. With them was the great Doctor Gerald Robotnik. He was the leading expert on brain waves and development.

"So you're saying this boy is fourteen?" Gerald asked as they watched him sleep.

"That's right Doctor." Miles replied as the spindles on Gerald's machine scribbled down some lines on the paper as it recorded the sleeping hedgehog's brain waves.

"Then I'm afraid the critical period has passed."

"The what?" Rouge asked.

"The critical period hypothesis states that the first few years of life is the important time for an individual to gain a first language. If language input doesn't occur until after the end of puberty, the individual will never gain a full command of language, especially grammar."

"Well he hasn't officially crossed that line yet." Silver smiled.

"That is true." The doctor frowned. "Mobians, despite having evolved greatly over the years, are still animals and as such they possess many of their animal qualities."

They all nodded in agreement.

Different Mobians had different pointers to show when they had become adult. Birds would shed their baby feathers, bats' wings would have a sudden growth spurt and hedgehogs shed their baby quills so their adult ones could grow in.

"Guys, I think he's waking up." Miles frowned.

They looked and saw Sonic's eyes fluttering open as he started to sit up and look around the room in fear. He had small wires bandaged to his head and their were strange machines beeping around him.

"Look at him, he's scared to death, can I just go in there and make sure he's OK?" Rouge pleaded with the doctor.

"Don't you worry, he'll be back to sleep in no time." Gerald reassured as he clicked a button. It would send more of the sedative into the IV inserted into Sonic's arm.

But the blue hedgehog was starting to panic.

"Now, when you isolate someone you start to see the affects in as little as 15 minutes, so judging what this boy has been through, we're gonna find some interesting stuff." Dr. Robotnik explained as the machines beeped.

"Shadow, where are you going?" Miles suddenly asked.

The others looked up and saw Shadow calmly heading towards the door that lead to the room Sonic was in. The blue teen was now crying in fear as Gerald clicked the button again.

"I'm just going to go in, just so he knows I'm close by."

"Shadow wait!" Rouge called as she tried to stop him but he was already in the room. The doctor shook his head and turned back to his machine to read the data.

"Hey Sonic." Shadow said softly, but Sonic tried to pull the wires off his head. "Oh no don't do that."

But then Sonic went from trying to take the wires off his head to pulling on the leather strap that held his legs to the bed.

"How about I sing you a song?" The ebony hedgehog asked quickly as he struggled to hold the other down.

 _ **"Hush little baby don't you cry**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna sing you a lullaby**_  
 _ **Hush little baby don't say a word**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird**_  
 _ **And if that mockingbird don't sing**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring."**_

As Shadow continued to sing Sonic smiled and gave a out sleepy chuckle.

"Shadow silly." He smiled before slowly drifting back to sleep.

"Now this is very interesting." Dr. Robotnik muttered as the machine finished. "Do you all see how these lines seem to mix together?" He asked and they all nodded.

"Well that's usually a sign of retardation from birth."...

* * *

After leaving the test room Shadow and Rouge took Sonic back to his hospital bed. After about half an hour he woke up with both Shadow and Rouge at either side of him.

"So he said 'Shadow silly'?" Grandpa asked as Sonic played with all his toys on his bed.

"Yes, it's also the first time he's called ever me by name or put two words together for that matter." Shadow smiled as they watched Sonic play with a plastic bucket and his favourite toy: a rudder duck.

"Buck!" Sonic giggled and showed them the red bucket.

"Yes you like **buckets**." Rouge smiled, trying to get Sonic to say it properly.

"Duck!" He exclaimed and showed Shadow his rubber duck.

"Yes that's your duck!" He smiled at the teen. "But what's the difference between a duck and a buck?" He asked, trying to get Sonic to use actual sentences and grammar.

Suddenly Amy Rose walked over to them.

"Making more of our little research notes I see." She sneered at them and turned to Sonic. "Hi there sweetie, how would you like to spend the night at my house?" She smiled.

"I beg your pardon?" Shadow asked with a small glare.

"Silver and Miles said it was alright." She replied as Sonic started to pull on her arm. "This child is not simply a tool of science, it's about time he spent some time in a normal home."

"A normal home? Amy, do I need to remind you of certain comments you've made?" Rouge frowned.

"Like Rose!" Sonic smiled.

"And Amy likes Sonic too." She smiled back lovingly. "Amy likes Sonic more than anyone else in the whole world."...

* * *

After packing up some of Sonic's things, all Shadow and Rouge could do was watch as Amy Rose, with a smug look on her face, helped Sonic into her car and drive off.

Once they were gone the two researchers went straight to Silver's office.

"What the hell are you thinking?!" Rouge shouted as soon as they burst into the office. "Letting Amy Rose take him back to her house?! Need I remind you of all the comments she been making?!"

Once she was done she took a seat, panting.

"Look guys, I don't like this either but Miss Rose does make a fair point, Sonic needs to learn what life will be like for him outside the hospital bed." He explained.

Shadow knew that Silver was right but he still had a bad feeling about it...

* * *

Shadow sighed as he tossed and turned in his bed. He was back at the house he shared with Rouge, who was asleep in the next room. It was around 5 am and he hadn't gotten any sleep.

Just then he heard the phone ring Rouge answered it.

"Hello? No, I'm afraid he's still asleep." He heard her say to the person on the other end. "Sure I give him a message." The bat said as she grabbed a pen and notepad.

Shadow frowned and he suddenly sat up and went to see what was going on.

"What?" She suddenly exclaimed in a mixture of anger and concern.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked, giving her a fright, but she quickly recovered.

"Sonic's being quarantined over at Amy Rose's house."

Shadow couldn't believe what he had just heard. He ran back into his room, got dressed and was out the front door like a flash of lighting...

* * *

When Shadow arrived at Silver's office he saw that Miles was already there, looking just as angry. They all waited for Rouge to arrive before the ivory hedgehog could explained what was going on.

In a matter of minuets the bat arrived as well, looking pissed.

"Miss Rose has contracted Rubella." Silver finally said. "Sonic's been staying over at her place so he's been infected as well and we can't risk infecting the other children at the hospital."

"I can't believe this!" Shadow snarled as he started pacing around the office.

"Are we sure she's not lying?" Miles asked.

"She's not lying, I saw her for myself and she's definitely got something." Silver clarified.

"Yeah she's got something alright, she has Sonic." Rouge muttered.

"Alright, let's all just calm down for a moment, it's gonna be business as always only for the next few days it'll take place at Miss Rose's house." Silver said in a calm voice.

"Oh and I have this to give to you." Miles took out a piece of paper for the ivory hedgehog.

"Well this just keeps getting better." He glared.

"What is it?" Rouge asked and the doctor passed the note to her.

"It's a request from Sonic's mother!" She exclaimed.

"What does she want?" Shadow snarled.

"She wants to come visit her son." Silver replied. "Social Services say that it's alright as long as we at the hospital think Sonic's healthy enough, physically and mentally."

"And the doctors here think that he's healthy enough, so it's just a matter of arranging a date." Miles added.

Shadow just hummed in thought...

* * *

That afternoon Shadow went alone to Amy Rose's house. It was a nice, small house and the front lawn was full of beautiful, colourful flowers that Amy had planted herself.

When he arrived at the house knocked and waited at the front door for her to answer.

He then noticed something at the window that showed the living room. He turned to it and saw that Sonic was sat next it with a big smile on his face as he waved out to them.

"Hey Sonic, could you open the door?" He asked, but Sonic tilted his head in confusion.

Suddenly the front door opened and Amy Rose appeared. Shadow frowned as he started to look her up and down. She didn't look like she had Rubella or any illness really.

"Please come in." She said with little to no emotion.

Shadow nodded and as soon as they walked into the house Sonic ran out the living room with a huge smile on his face. Shadow smiled and Amy silently watched from the door.

"Shadow wait!" He smiled.

"Oh yes, Shadow certainly did wait." Shadow smiled before turning towards Amy with a forced smile. "So, how are you feeling Miss Rose?" He asked as Sonic took his hand.

"Much better, thank you." She smiled back.

"Front door!" Sonic suddenly exclaimed as he started pulling on Shadow's arms.

"Good job Sonic, you're learning a lot of new words." He smiled.

"But 'store' is his favourite." Amy smiled as she walked to the kitchen. "Almost every building he sees he has to stop and points and says store." She smiled as she poured a coffee.

"Go store!" The blue teen begged as he tried to pull Shadow to the front door.

"If it's alright with Dr. Shadow then it's alright with me." Amy called back and Sonic looked at ebony hedgehog with pleading eyes.

"Of course it's OK with me."

The minute those words left his mouth Sonic had already pulled him out the door...


	6. A Hostage

**Chapter 6: A Hostage**

It wasn't until nightfall when Shadow returned to Amy's house. Shadow was amazed on how much the boy had grown. While he wasn't 100% yet, he had put on some weight and the dark circles had faded from his eyes.

Shadow and Amy were now in the kitchen while Sonic was watching 'Sesame Street' on her TV.

"Sonic sweetie, you can watch TV for a few more minutes then it's time for bed." Amy said with a smile before walking into the kitchen where Shadow was waiting for her.

"I just can't get over how well he's doing, you've really got a gift Miss Rose." He said before taking a drink from the coffee he was given.

"Oh please, just Amy." She smiled before letting out a sad sigh. "And I guess I can empathise; I was a very sickly child myself and always wanted children of my own but I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

Shadow frowned slightly but didn't say anything.

"Now, I hope you've noticed that Sonic's... quite fond of touching himself?" She asked nervously and Shadow blushed slightly as the embarrassing memories flooded his eyes.

"Yes, I'm afraid he's even done it in public a few times." He replied.

"But you've tried to stop him?"

"Yes we have but you know Sonic, he has a mind of his own."

"But children are like sponges and they copy what they're taught to do."

"Not always." Shadow frowned deepened. "Linguistically speaking, the seeds of language are there from birth and the only way for a child not to develop language is to... well, do what Sonic's parents did and isolate him completely."

"And you think the sexual instinct works the same way?" She asked.

"I'm afraid that's not really my field of expertise."

Amy just nodded slowly...

* * *

Shadow growled as he fidgeted in his seat. It had been almost a week since Sonic had been quarantined at Amy's house and Silver had called they all to his office, said he had some devastating news for them.

"Amy Rose is accusing me of molesting Sonic." Dr. Gerald said sadly.

Shadow and the others felt like bomb had hit.

"I went over there yesterday to check things out and Amy told me I could take Sonic out to the park. We were gone for the entire afternoon and when we got back Sonic's hands were a bit musty from the wind. Amy looks right at him and well..."

"She's completely out of her mind!" Rouge shouted.

"I can't tell you how I felt; I mean a charge like that?!" The older doctor exclaimed to Silver. "I am the last person in the whole world who would do anything like that."

"Well who'd believe her?" Miles glared.

"Yeah, you practically saved Sonic, everyone in this hospital knows that and you have always treated that boy like he was your own child!" Rouge hissed in anger.

Silver and Shadow nodded in agreement.

"It doesn't matter." Gerald sighed. "Even if it was proven false the charges would still stick, people would always wonder; I really care about that little boy but you know I don't think I have any choice but to quit the team."...

* * *

The next very morning Shadow Doom went to confront that pink hedgehog by himself. As he knocked on the door he saw Sonic waving at him through the window.

"Sonic, could you open the door for me?" He called to the boy, only to get the same reaction as last time.

"Just one second sweetie, I'll be right back." Amy Rose said as she stepped outside. She closed the door and walked up to him, already knowing why he was here.

"What's going on?" He asked as calmly as possible.

"I don't' think it's a good idea for you to see Sonic today." She said as she crossed her arms and tried to lead Shadow off her lawn.

"What-"

"Your visits are tiring him." She stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Since when?" He glare. "And since do you decide who he sees and doesn't see? You're not his guardian!" He exclaimed. Sonic's smile dropped and he stopped waving as he stared at the two people from the window in fear and confusion.

Shadow was the only one who seemed to notice.

"Well as a matter of fact I've applied to be just that and until Social Services make their decision Sonic is to remain in my custody." She grinned before walking away.

"Amy Rose, don't you realise what you're doing?! You are cutting him off from the rest of the world again, it is like his right back in that torture house he grew up in."

Amy scoff in offence and stormed towards her door.

"First Doctor Robotnik and now me, who else?!" He shouted after her. "Are you gonna go on holding him hostage for the rest of his life?!" He cried before Amy slammed the door shut and locked it.

Shadow sighed and looked back at the window to see Sonic's sweet smile before Amy angrily pulled the curtains back...

* * *

Shadow sighed as he sat in his office watching videos of Sonic's lessons with him and the others on his laptop. He had hardly left his office since he and the others had been rejected by Amy Rose.

"I thought I'd find you here." A voice chuckled.

Shadow looked up and saw Dr. Silver smiling at him from the door. Shadow just went back to his work as the ivory hedgehog took a seat next to his darker friend.

"You OK?"

"Yes." Shadow replied with a sigh as he closed the laptop. "I was just reviewing the work me and Rouge were doing a month ago, it's really all I can do at this point."

Silver nodded.

"You know, my wife Blaze and I have been talking about this whole situation and, well, we've pretty much decided to apply to be Sonic's foster parents." He smiled.

"Silver, that has to be the best news I've heard in weeks."

"It's not for certain yet, Sonic is very demanding and we already have two children and I am his therapist; but Blaze does have a degree in child psychology, which is very helpful but because I'm also a researcher on the case, it can be difficult."

"I see your problem."

"But I think it can be done, so if Sonic's social workers give us the go ahead then we'll give it a shot."...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW FOR UPDATE!**_


	7. A New Home

**Chapter 7: A New Home**

Three days later and after a lot of meetings and fights, Sliver was putting Sonic's things in the trunk of his car as Sonic got into the back seat with a bunch of toys on his lap.

Silver's wife Blaze was sat in the passenger seat, smiling at the boy.

Blaze Solaris was a light lilac-furred cat in her mid thirties with bright gold eyes. Her muzzle was white, her inner ears were peach and the tip of her tail dark purple.

She wore dark purple shirt, white pants and red heels.

She had four plumes of 'hair' that were done up in a high ponytail with dark purple tips on top of her head and she had a small, beautiful gemstone on her forehead.

"Sonic!"

They all looked up and back at the house to see Amy Rose running across her lawn to get to them. The pink hedgehog had fought tooth and nail to keep Sonic but it just wasn't meant to be.

She had tears streaming down her face.

"You forgot one." She sniffed sweetly to the boy as she knelt down by the open window to pass him his favourite little yellow rubber ducky. He took it and held it close it his chest.

"I love you." She sniffed as the tears ran down her cheeks.

Silver slammed the trunk shut and moved to the drivers seat of the car as Amy slowly stood up, hatred in her teary eyes. Just before he climbed inside he looked her in the eyes.

"I don't know what to say." He admitted with a sigh.

"Not now you don't, but you believe me this is not over yet." She snarled. "You are depriving this child of the best home he's ever had or ever will have and I'm gonna make sure you all pay if it's the last thing I do!" She cried.

Silver didn't say anything as he climbed into his car and drove off.

As they slowly drove away from her house Sonic pointed his head out the window and slowly waved goodbye to Amy, who just watched as tears flowed down her face...

* * *

It didn't take long for Sonic to get settled at Silver's house. After his arrival things seemed to have fallen into a routine. He would watch from his new bedroom balcony as Silver went to work.

Then a few minuets later his children, Pearl and Venice, would follow.

His daughter Pearl was a sixteen years old white cat with gold eyes and a tanned muzzle. She wore small glasses, a light pink tube top with short denim shorts.

She was a bit of a diva.

His son Venice was an eighteen year old, ivory hedgehog with aqua blue eyes and amber circles on his hands. He wore a crimson red tank top and long blue jeans.

While the children went to school and her husband went to work, Blaze stayed at home with Sonic.

After watched Silver and his kids leave the house Sonic walked back into his room and sat on his queen size bed. Scattered on the bed were his plastic toys and textbooks that Venice had given him.

Even though he couldn't read he liked looking at the pictures.

There were even times when he would go to someone in the house and point at one of the pictures, wondering what it was. Sometimes Silver, Blaze or even Venice would sit with him and make up stories with the pictures in the books.

What surprised them was when Sonic started to try and copy what they were saying, even though he never pronounced the words correctly.

The blue hedgehog picked up one about Antarctica that he was give this morning and started flipping through. He smiled innocently as he saw the cute, fluffy baby penguins playing in the snow.

But his small dropped when he turned to the next chapter and saw a team of sled dogs.

He turned the pages again but the only pictures he was were ones of the sled dogs. Some were even close up in the dogs' faces, showing their teeth. All he could hear was the sound of Jules snarling.

Suddenly he threw the book to the floor, along with all the others...

* * *

Downstairs, Blaze was in the kitchen, washing the dishes from breakfast when she heard Sonic's toys and books hitting the floor. She froze for a second and listened.

But her heart suddenly jerked when she heard Sonic sobbing from his room.

"Sonic?!" She called as she ran upstairs as fast as she could. She burst into the teens room and froze. Sonic was curled up on his bed with his things scattered all over the floor.

But what scared her was the fact that Sonic was clawing at his arms, drawing blood!

"Sonic, what are you doing?!" She cried as she ran up to him and tried to pin him down. But the boy only howled like a wounded animal as he struggled beneath her.

She had to think of something and quick.

"Sonic, watch me! I am so angry! So very angry!" The purple cat exclaimed as she grabbed a pillow and began hitting the end of the bed as she kept grunting angrily.

Sonic just watched quietly in fascination...

* * *

The next day, Shadow and Rouge were at Silver's house for a visit. As soon as he had come home Blaze told Silver what had happened and he had called the other two.

Now they were all in Silver's backyard.

They were all watching from the side as the ivory hedgehog filmed Blaze teaching Sonic how to throw a tantrum. Blaze thought it would be best to teach him how to let his anger out in other forms.

The boy boy now had bandages on his arms from the scratches he gave himself.

"I know that this is going to help Sonic but you might live to regret this, Silver." Shadow warned with a smirk as Sonic copied Blaze and was hitting a chair with a cushion.

Blaze then told Sonic to run upstairs and slam the door.

"You just might be right." Silver sighed as he ended the film...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW FOR UPDATE!**_


	8. An Awkward Reunion

**Chapter 8: An Awkward Reunion**

Later that evening Shadow and Rouge were sat with Sonic in Silver's living room. In front of them was a large chalkboard and on it was a small sentence that Shadow had written on it.

"Car... has... mirror..." The teen read out loud with a proud smile on his face.

"No Sonic: The car has a mirror." Shadow said slowly as he pointed to each word as he said them. Rouge sent her partner a small glare. Silver was standing close by, filming the whole thing.

Suddenly Pearl stormed into the room.

"Have you taken my hairbrush again, Sonic?!" The white cat shouted at him angrily. Sonic just started at her in slight confusion, not knowing how to responded to her.

"Can it wait 'til later?" Silver glared at his daughter.

"Well I'm sorry Dad, but he keeps taking my things and quite frankly I have lost my patience with him!" She shouted at her father before storming off to the kitchen.

Silver gave them an apologetic look before going after her.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Rouge smiled, trying to ease the tension. Shadow glared at her. He wanted to keep the lesson going, for Sonic's sake, but she just seemed to want some fun.

Sonic grabbed her hand and pulled her to the piano.

"Is it time for a concert sweetie?" She giggled as Sonic sat down next to her with a big smile on his face. "As you wish." She said and started playing a sweet melody.

As she continued to play Shadow let his mind wander.

He remembered his mother playing this song on their family piano. She would play for him and his older brother Mephiles and would even let them play with her until their father came home.

"Shadow!" Rouge suddenly shouted.

"What?! What's wrong?!" He exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat. Rouge shushed him and pointed to Sonic. The blue hedgehog was slumped in the armchair, fast asleep...

* * *

Meanwhile, Silver was with his daughter in the kitchen. He could hear Rouge playing the piano for Sonic in the living room. The small teenager really seemed to love music.

When he entered the kitchen he saw Pearl angrily washing dishes.

"Hey, are you OK?" He asked calmly, but she didn't respond to his call. "I'm sure your hairbrush will turn up soon." He reassured as he hugged her from behind.

"It's not just the hairbrush Dad." She snapped.

"Then tell me what's wrong sweet heart." The ivory hedgehog pleaded as he kissed his daughter's forehead. Pearl turned to her father and took a deep, calming breath.

Silver waited patiently.

"It's just that, everyone one at school is always walking up to me saying 'Hey, your the girl living with the Wild Child aren't you?', and it's like I don't have my own face anymore, then when I get home you, Venice and Mom are always with Sonic and never really spend time with me anymore!"

Suddenly she broke into tears.

Silver eyes widened. He hadn't realised he, Venice and Blaze had been ignoring her. He knew that Sonic needed him but it seems that he forgot that his family needed him too.

He pulled her into a tight hug.

"Shhhh, it's alright, I'm so sorry that you feel that way." He soothed. "I should have noticed how you felt. How about you and me go to the fair tomorrow afternoon?"

"Just the two of us?" She asked and he smiled.

"Just the two of us."...

* * *

The next day was the day everyone had been waiting for. The day Sonic would reunite with his mother, Bernadette. It was 8pm and Bernie would be coming over to Silver's home soon.

Shadow and Rouge were asked to come and met her.

Everyone was rushing around the house, trying to make sure everything was perfect for Bernie's visit. They wanted to show her that her son was happy and in safe hands.

After what seemed like an eternity the front door bell finally rang.

As everyone waited in the living room Silver and Blaze lead Bernadette inside. After the court had found her not guilt, the hospital had given her an operation on her eyes and it restored her eyesight.

"Sonic, mommy's here." Blaze called upstairs.

After a few minutes Sonic came waddling down the stairs. With Pearl's help he was all dressed up in a nice outfit. A few days ago Rouge had bought him a large necklace with chunky, colour beads.

"Sonic happy Mama see." He stuttered with a smile as he hugged her.

"W-What have you done to make him walk so funny?" Bernadette asked in shock. Now that her blindness was gone she could finally see her son and, more importantly, the way he moved.

Sonic looked at his mother in confusion and then turned to Shadow.

But no one knew how to react. Venice and Pearl shifted nervously, Rouge and Shadow glared at Bernie while Silver and Blaze looked at each other, trying to think of what to do.

Suddenly Blaze cleared her throat.

"How about dinner?"...

* * *

As everyone ate the sausages and mash potatoes that Blaze made they tried to talk to Bernie about Sonic's amazing progress or ask her how she was doing but she didn't say much.

It was very awkward.

"Sonic." She finally spoke up as Sonic looked up at her, food dripping from his mouth. "Did I tell you that your sister moved away? I don't know where exactly; she didn't really tell me." She muttered and continued eating.

The rest of the dinner went by slowly and no words were spoken.

Finally it was time for Bernadette to leave. As she walked to the front door Sonic grabbed her hand and looked at her with pleading eyes. Bernie sighed and pulled her son into a gentle embrace before leaving.

As Silver and Blaze washed the dishes Silver couldn't help but feel angry at Bernie.

"She could at least taken notice of the project!" He exclaimed to his wife. Sonic, Pearl and Venice were already in bed and Shadow and Rouge had gone back to their home.

The blue hedgehog was still upset when he went to bed.

"I guess she must be overwhelmed." Blaze suggested. "Personally I don't know how I would take it if I arrived in some stranger's house and saw this stranger acting like a new mother to my child."

Silver sighed as she hugged him

"I guess she must feel pretty powerless."...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW FOR UPDATE!**_


	9. Growing In

**Chapter 9: Growing In**

That night, after returning from their dinner at Silver and Blaze's house with Bernadette, Shadow and Rouge were back in their home, thinking about today's events.

"So I it no one told her that Sonic struggles walking properly?" Shadow glared at the mirror.

He was in the bathroom joined to the bedroom while Rouge was getting ready for bed. He was still furious with the lavender hedgehog for her comment when she first saw Sonic and the way she acted during the dinner.

"Probably; it's also good that you didn't interrogate her either."

"You understand, I'm disappointed." He huffed. "We know so little about Sonic's past and she could tell us so much." He sighed as he left the bathroom and sat next to her on the bed.

Rouge nodded in understanding.

"But the last time she spoke, she ended up in prison. Do not forget that the court also sees her as a victim as much as they do Sonic." She reminded him and he sighed.

But Shadow frowned.

"Do not you want to know why?" He asked her firmly. "I'm not talking as a scientist but as a living being and I want to understand why another living being was subjected to such torture."

"You'll have to be patient and in time we will get the answers to our questions."...

* * *

When Shadow and Rouge pulled up outside Silver's house week later they saw Blaze shifting nervously on her doorstep. The bat and ebony hedgehog didn't get a chance to get out of the car before she pounced on them.

"It's finally happened." She said, the dread in her voice clear as day.

"What's happened?" Rouge asked.

"What we've been waiting for." the purple cat replied and led them inside, where Silver was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. After explaining the situation, Shadow went up to the blue child's room when a sound caught his attention.

It sounded like a soft cry.

Shadow paused in his steps and waited until the noise came again. A small pain filled cry that was soon followed by a whimper. Fear flashed through Shadow as he opened the door.

When he entered he saw something curled up under the covers.

The room was dark as all the lights were off and the curtains were closed. The only light coming into the room was from the balcony. Shadow slowing walked over to the bed and lifted the covers.

It was Sonic, just with no quills.

The traumatised teen was finally shedding his baby quills, meaning that he had finally reached the end of puberty. The poor teenager looked in pain and scared to death.

It broke Shadow's heart to see him like this

"Sonic? Are you OK?" He whispered softly, but the boy whimpered and curled up into a tighter ball. Shadow sighed as he sat on the bed and gently rubbed Sonic's quill-less back.

The boy started shivering in pain.

"Sonic, I know you're scared but this is a good thing." He smiled. "I know Silver's already tried to explain it to you, but this is perfectly normal, it just means that you're becoming a big boy."...

* * *

After calming the blue hedgehog down, Shadow came downstairs where Rouge, Blaze and Silver were all waiting for him in the kitchen with fresh coffee made for him.

"I think he's calm down a bit." He sighed as he took a seat next to Rouge.

"I can't believe this happening now of all times." Blaze frowned down at her coffee mug. "He only just finished toilet training yesterday and now his adult quills are growing in."

"Well we knew it would happen sooner or later." Rouge sighed.

"Yeah, and there is a silver lining to all this." Silver said and they all looked at him in shock. "The critical period is over so that means everything he learns now is over the line."

"I guess we're going to find out if Lenneberg's theory is correct." Rouge sighed.

"It's not a theory, it's just a hypothesis." Shadow grinned. "And Sonic's going to prove to us that it's wrong, just wait and see."...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW FOR UPDATES!**_


	10. Research

**Chapter 10: Research**

After Sonic's adult quills had grown in, Blaze and Silver decided it was time he went back to school. However, because of her accusations, Sonic was moved to a different school from where Amy lived and worked.

When he arrived the vice principle lead Sonic to a classroom full of four-five year olds.

"Quiet in class!" The teacher, Vanilla Rabbit called and the children fell silent. "We have a new student with us today; he's a bit older than you but he's never been to school before, so I want you to be extra nice to him. Do you understand?"

All of the children called out 'Yes, Miss Rabbit' as Vanilla lead Sonic to the front of class.

"Class, this is Sonic Maurice, and what do we all say to him?" She smiled as they all called 'Hello' before looking down at him. "You can sit yourself down wherever you want honey."

"Sit here!" Vanilla's daughter Cream called and Sonic silently shuffled over to her table...

* * *

After school had ended Vanilla led Sonic outside to the curb where the buses were parked. Once there he tilted his head in confusion at all the kids running onto the yellow school but to go home.

The only vehicles he had seen were cars.

"Sonic, this is Vector." The rabbit smiled as they walked up to one of the buses where a large crocodile was driving. "He's already been told where to drop up off so don't worry."

Sonic smiled nervously as Vector and Vanilla helped him onto the bus.

After almost ten minuets of driving Vector finally pulled up outside Silver and Blaze's house. When they got there he saw Rouge and Blaze waiting outside for the blue hedgehog.

"OK Sonic, this is your stop." He said as he helped the teen off the bus.

But the second they let go of him, Sonic ran and grabbed onto Vector's arm. Poor Vector looked to Blaze and Rouge, not knowing what to do. The two laughed before trying to pry the boy off his arm...

* * *

Shadow couldn't help but laugh as Rouge told him what had been going on that day. He had to do paperwork so he couldn't of been there to see or help them get Sonic off Vector.

"Seriously?!" He snickered.

"Yeah, it must of taken us both almost two whole minuets until we finally got him loose, he really wanted to ride on that bus again." Rouge laughed from in the shower.

"How did the bus driver take it?"

"Oh he was great, a really nice guy."

Shadow just chuckled as he went to brush his teeth...

* * *

The next day Shadow went over to Silver's place again to continue Sonic's lessons. While Silver was videoing them Shadow showed Sonic some cards with words on them and tole him put them in order.

Sonic smiled and started moving the cards around.

When he finished he looked up at Shadow with a large smile on his face. But Shadow sighed. The cards were nowhere near the right order. It seemed like the boy knew what the words were, he just didn't know how to put them in a sentence.

"OK Sonic, I want you to try again and this time think carefully." He said.

Sonic tried again and as he was thinking Shadow took a quick glance behind him. There were two people from the Institute of Mental Health sitting there, taking notes as they watched Sonic.

The institute had sent them to make sure the grant they had given to the hospital wasn't going to waste.

When Sonic was first discovered the Institute of Mental Health had given the hospital the funds so they could teach Sonic had to speak and behave like a normal Mobian.

"Where Duck?" Sonic suddenly asked, snapping Shadow out of his thoughts.

The ebony hedgehog looked at the cards again and sighed heavily when he saw that they were wrong again.

"Why don't we take a break?"...

* * *

That night Sonic was in his room while Pearl and Venice were watching TV in the living room. Silver, Shadow and Blaze were out on the patio, talking about the people from the institute.

They all had some scotch with them.

"I showed them all the film material I record, they sit there and watch it for about an hour and then they asked: So where's your research?!" Silver exclaimed as he paced in front of his wife and friend.

To say he was angry was an understatement.

"Well that is what they are paying for, isn't it?" Shadow frowned as Blaze went back inside to get some more drinks. "Silver, do you think we're in danger of losing the grant?"

"No, I don't think so."...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW!**_


	11. The Beach

**Chapter 11: The Beach**

Sonic sighed in boredom as he looked at the words cards on the table. Silver and his family with out in the backyard, playing hockey while Shadow was sat with Sonic, finishing their lesson.

But the blue hedgehog didn't seemed focus.

Instead he was looking around the room for something to do while Shadow was writing some notes in his journal. As Sonic looked out the window, he saw Silver and his family with their hockey sticks.

When Shadow looked up from his journal he gasped.

Sonic was looking at the ground with tears streaming down his face and his nails buried themselves in his head. Shadow immediately reached for the boy but he back away in fear.

"Sonic, what's wrong?"...

* * *

The next day Sonic was at the beach with his mother, Shadow and Rouge. The boy had a bucket full of shells as he walked across the beach, with Rouge close by to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

Shadow chuckled as he watched Sonic quickly back away from the waves that rolled in.

He then decided to join Bernadette. Bernie was sat on a deckchair, smiling as she watched her son watch the waves in fascination and then back away when they got too close.

Shadow quietly sat on the deckchair next to her's.

"I haven't been to the sea in so long; Jules would never take me or Sonia." She said as she took a breath of salty air. Shadow shifted nervously as the awkwardness grew.

Bernie just watched her son quietly.

"He was a cruel man, wasn't he?" He finally asked but she didn't answer. "Sonic said something the other day; he said, and these are his exact words 'Papa hit big stick', do you know what that might mean?"

She sighed.

"Well Jules did not like noise and therefore he didn't want to have children and Sonic sometimes made noise." She admitted. "Jules had a big stick that he kept in the corner of Sonic's room, which used when he was acting up."

"So how often did he beat him?" He glared.

"Thankfully, not very often." Bernadette sighed sadly as Sonic sat down and let the waves hit him. "But Jules did have other ways of silencing him." She added sadly.

"Like what?"

"He'd growl."

"What?"

"He'd growl." She repeated. "Like an angry dog."

"And that kept Sonic quiet?"

"I'd imagine so otherwise he wouldn't of kept on doing it." She sighed before frowning. "The people that Sonic lives with, the Solaris family, they don't like me do they?"

"I wouldn't say that."

"Then why won't they let me see Sonic at their house?" She glared at the other hedgehog. "Why do you and Miss Valentine have to drive Sonic all the way here so that I can spend some time with him?"

Shadow just sighed.

"Dr. Silver and his family are just concerned that it will be difficult for you to see Sonic with his foster parents." He replied and she scoffed. "It's not because they do not like you, they're just trying to be considerate."

Bernie didn't say anything and just turned back to her son...

* * *

That night Shadow was ready to claw his eyes out. He was back at Silver's house with Sonic and trying to get the boy to say something, but he just wasn't cooperating.

He just kept staring out the window.

"Come on Sonic, ask me a question." He said again with a small frown of frustration. "I don't care what it is, just ask me anything, we're not going anywhere until you ask me something."

"Dark." He said.

"Yes it is dark, that's because it's late." He glared as he massaged his temples to ease the headache. "So just ask me a question and we'll be done for the day and you can go to bed."

"Where Vector? Come Thursday." He said, still looking out the window.

"So what you really want to ask is: 'Where will Vector pick me up on Thursday?'." Shadow sighed as he waited for Sonic's response. But the boy still kept staring out the window.

"Dark."

"Alright, let's call it a day." Shadow snapped as he stood up and left...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW!**_


	12. Dropped

**Chapter 12: Dropped**

Three days later, Shadow was in Silver's office, going over their notes and research on Sonic's progress. Sonic and Silver's kids were at school and Blaze was relaxing at home.

Both hedgehogs didn't look happy.

"So for he has stayed at this level he's no longer developing." Shadow sighed in frustration. "He has a certain vocabulary but it does not correspond to the vocabulary of a normal preschool child just entering kindergarden."

Silver nodded in understanding.

"He can't construct a grammatically correct sentence." The ebony hedgehog added with a sad, heavy sigh. "Even with the words he has learned his language is strongly limited."

"Even when he's being grammatical it's not on purpose." Silver sighed.

"But for some reason, when he doesn't rely on verbal language he communicates very well with people; he always finds a way to make himself understood, no matter what." Shadow frowned.

Silver hummed in thought.

"He's also good with his hands, perhaps we can combine the two."...

* * *

The next morning Silver, Shadow and Miles Prower came up with an amazing plan for Sonic. Miles was going to teach him how to communicate through sign language.

They were all in the backyard.

Sonic was sat next to Miles as the kitsune showed him what to do while Silver filmed the entire thing. Shadow stood off to the side of them, watching with a faint smile.

He seemed to be smiling a lot these days.

"Very good Sonic, your a fast learner." Miles smiled when Sonic successfully copied a sentence with the techniques the fox had told him. "Now why don't you say something to Shadow?"

Sonic turned around to Shadow and thought for a moment.

 _"Sonic love Shadow."_ He signed to his friend with an innocent smile and the ebony hedgehog chuckled. The blue hedgehog's grammar still wasn't perfect but it was much clearer.

 _"Shadow loves Sonic too."_ He signed back...

* * *

Later that day, Shadow and Miles went home and Blaze was getting dinner ready.

Silver was in his office, going over the work he and the others had done while Sonic was playing with his favourite rubber ducky and some of his other toys in the bathroom.

Pearl was gossiping with her friends on her phone.

Venice was sat on the front porch, reading a book when he noticed a car pulling up their drive way. His eyes widened when he saw the two people from the institute get out.

"Mom! Dad!"...

* * *

That night Shadow was fast asleep in his bed while Rouge was out clubbing with a few of her friends, but his sleep was anything but peaceful. He had sweat on his brow as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

A pained scowl etched on his face.

 ** _(In Dream)_**

 _A thirteen year old Shadow sighed as he watched TV with his little brother Mephiles. Their mother, Breezie, was rushing around the house, looking for their father's stash._

 _Once she was certain she had it all she quickly ran into the kitchen to pour it down the sink._

 _Suddenly the front door burst open and their father, Shade, stumbled inside, drunk as a skunk. When he saw what his wife was doing he marched into the kitchen and started beating her!_

 _Unable to listen to her cries of pain, Mephiles covered his ears with his hands._

 _Shadow glared as he stood up and ran to his mother's aid. However, his father saw him coming and easily batted him away. The ebony hedgehog slipped on the kitchen floor._

 _His head hit the corner of the counter with a sickening thud._

 _His world was violently spinning as he struggled to stay conscious. Everything was blurred, yet his mother's cries were clear as day. He somehow managed to lift his head and turned her parents._

 _His heart almost stopped._

 _It was no longer his mother that Shade was beating to a bloody mess. It was Sonic..._

 ** _(End Dream)_**

Shadow released a strangled gasp as he shot up from his bed.

He was breathing heavy in panic and his body was drenched in sweat. It was dark in the room and all he could hear was a constant ringing. After a few moments, he started to calm down again.

But he could still hear the ringing sound.

He gasped when he realised that it was the house phone that was ringing. He quickly jumped out the bed and grabbed the phone. He looked and saw that it was Silver who was calling him.

"Hello?"...

* * *

Rouge growled in frustration as she unlocked the front door to her and Shadow's house. She was coming home early from her night out due to the fact some freak in the club decided to get a feel.

She retaliated and the manager threw **her** out.

When she stepped inside and saw that the entire house was pitch black. She tutted with a roll of her eyes. She knew Shadow liked the dark but this was too much.

She turned on the lights and was scared to death when she saw Shadow sat in the chair in front of her.

"Shadow! Don't ever do that again!" She exclaimed angrily, but her glare faulted when she saw him glaring at the floor with a brandy in his hand, completely ignoring her.

"Shadow? Hun, what's wrong?" She asked as she knelt down next to him.

"They have taken the research grant." He snarled in rage. "The Mental Care Board has dropped the project; I kept telling Silver to organise his research better but he wouldn't listen!"

"What about Sonic?" Rouge asked.

"The Solaris family have already arranged new living arrangements." Shadow scoffed. "They're moving him tomorrow."

"Where?"...

* * *

"I fixed up your old room for you." Bernadette smiled nervously as she let Silver and Sonic back into her house.

It was the same house that she once shared with Jules and their daughter Sonia. It was also the same house where the blue teenager had been so terribly abused.

"Would you like to see it?"

Sonic looked up to Silver for permission. The ivory hedgehog smiled sadly and nodded. Sonic turned back to his mother and followed down the halls of his old home.

Once they were out of his sight Silver put down Sonic's suitcase and left the house...

* * *

When Bernadette opened his bedroom door, Sonic froze. Instead of the cold, hard, grey floor and walls, blacked out windows, crib with the chicken wire on top and the potty chair with restraints he saw a completely different room.

Bernie stood by the door, nervously watching him.

The walls were painted a light blue colour, with windows shined with sunlight as white curtains fluttered in the wind, there was a red racing car bed in the corner, toys everywhere and under his feet was a soft, navy blue carpet.

She noticed Sonic caressing the plastic wrapping on the wrapping.

"Do you like it?" She asked with warm smile. "They just delivered it this morning, I didn't have enough time to unwrap it before you get here, but we can fix that later."

Suddenly there was the sound of a car starting.

Sonic quickly dashed out the room, passed his mother and out the front door. He froze when he saw Silver's car pulling away from the house and drive off without a second thought.

Sonic could only watch with teary eyes.

"Has he already gone?" Bernadette glared from the doorway before walking over and pulling her son into a hug. "I'm going to cook something for lunch, do want to help me honey?"

But Sonic just kept staring down the road...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW!**_


	13. The Stress

**Chapter 13: The Stress**

The next day Shadow and Rouge were driving up to Bernadette's house. As they drove Rouge turned up the radio and started singing along, much to Shadow's annoyance.

Soon they pulled up outside Bernie's house and saw the lavender hedgehog walking a man out.

"When you see the institution, you'll understand that Sonic can not get better care." He smiled as she walked him to his car. But when she saw Shadow and Rouge walking up to the house she quickly looked away.

"Hello." The ebony hedgehog nodded.

"Hello again." She replied and turned to the man. "Mr Jones, this is Shadow Doom and Rouge Valentine, they've been training Sonic." She explained and they shook hands.

Shadow gave her a small frown.

"And it seems like we can continue with his training." Rouge smiled at the mother. "The Research Council granted our application to continue Sonic's lessons in language and grammar."

"Do you know Peter Chang at the Research Council?" The man smiled but they shook their heads and he sighed.

"Bernadette, you have my number so call me tomorrow and we'll decide what's the best action to take." He said before getting back into his car and going back to where he came.

Once he was gone Shadow turned to Bernie.

"Nice man." He said with little to no emotion in his voice. "I don't quite understand what he was doing here though, care to explain?" He frowned and Rouge sent him a warning glare.

But before she could say anything, Sonic came running out and pulled Shadow into a hug.

"Hello Sonic, how are you?" He smiled as he hugged the boy back and when they part Sonic started signing to him. "Yes, I know you're missing Silver and Blaze, I'm sure they miss you too."...

* * *

Sonic giggled happily as he and Rouge sat in his new bedroom. They were both sat at his desk as she watched him colourfully draw and scribble on a large piece of paper.

Shadow smiled as he watched them from the door.

He silently watched them for a few more minuets before going to find Bernadette. He soon found her washing dishes as her tea pot bubbled and boiled on the stove.

He saw she had a scowl on her face.

"Mrs Maurice." The ebony hedgehog said but she didn't turn around to face him. "I hope you do not intend to place Sonic at the institution." He glared as he crossed his arms.

That made her stop.

"I have no other choice." She snarled. "He spits on the floor, stomps his feet, slams the doors and he rubs his hands over his private parts; he never use to do such things." She growled in an accusing tone.

"He never got the chance to." He glared back and she sighed.

"I thought that I could take care of him again, like when he was a little baby, but I'm afraid that Sonic has a lot of problems and I didn't understand just how bad it was." She admitted as tears started to build up in her eyes.

Shadow's expression softened and he sighed.

"Do you know what I would do in your situation?" He asked. "I would ask for Sonic to be placed in a foster home, with a nice couple whose children kids have left home or whose children are old enough to help."

She just scoffed and went back to washing dishes.

"I'd hate to see Sonic in an institution, it's too cold of and environment for Sonic, he needs love, he needs a family."...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW FOR UPDATE!**_


	14. Devout

**Chapter 14: Devout**

It didn't take long to place Sonic Maurice in a foster home just outside the city in the open countryside.

He was sent to live with the Manning family with their two other foster children. This couple had been fostering children for nearly twenty years. The Mannings were a devout Catholic couple in their early fifties.

Mr Manning was a dark blue rat with violet eyes and a white muzzle.

He wore thick, brown round glasses, a grey woolly sweater, thick black pants and a small symbol of the cross around his neck. He worked at the local garden centre.

Mrs Manning was a snowy white dormouse with a long, black bushy tail and dark blue eyes.

She wore a long, black skirt, brown boots and a dark brown turtleneck sweater. She didn't have a job and stayed home with the children. Their other two foster children were five year old Susie and 14 year old Mina.

While Mina had his own bedroom across from the Mannings Sonic shared with little Susie in the attic.

That night they were all standing around the table for dinner until Mrs Manning returned, then they turned to the door. Above every door in the house was a crucifix nailed into the wall.

"We bow our heads in prayer." Mr Manning said and they all obeyed.

Except for Sonic. He didn't understand and reached for the food before Mina quickly grabbed his wrist. He did this nearly all the time and in greatly irritated the Mannings, but they did try to remain calm.

"Sonic, what did I just say?" Mr Manning glared.

"Head prayer." He replied before trying to reach for the food again, only to be stopped once again by Mina. He looked at her in confusion until she put his hands together like the others.

He looked at his hands and back at her.

"Thank you Mina." Mrs Manning said and nodded for her husband to continue. The rat gave Sonic a quick glance to make sure he didn't interrupt again before they bowed their heads again.

"Heavenly Father, we thank you for your gifts, guide us while performing your tasks."...

* * *

The next afternoon it was night and sunny. The Mannings and their foster children were enjoying it in their backyard. While the Mannings were tending to their garden Susie was playing with her dolls and Sonic and Mina were enjoying the sunshine.

Mr Manning looked over to Mina and Sonic and he frowned when he saw them talking through sign language.

"Mina, you know you're not aloud to use sign language." He called over to them and she looked away in shame. "If you've got something to say just say it, we can't understand what you say when you talk with your hands."

"That goes for you too Sonic!" Mrs Manning added, causing him to flinch...

* * *

The next Sunday, the Mannings and the foster children were all dressed to go to church.

The Mannings were silently praying in their heads that Sonic would behave himself in church today. They didn't want to make a mockery of themselves or their church.

Sonic didn't really what church was but he thought it would be fun.

"My brother died in Vietnam." Mina explained to Sonic as they left the house to go to church. "He used to write to me all the time but then one day he stepped on a bomb in the ground and flew into the air."

"Flew the air?" Sonic asked and she nodded.

"Sonic." Mrs Manning suddenly stopped with a scowl. "You know that you may not have jewellery in the church now give me the necklace." She said and reached for it, but Sonic quickly backed away, clutching the beads around his neck.

It was the bead necklace Rouge had given him and he didn't want to give it up.

"Stop it Sonic! Give me the necklace now!" The dormouse snarled as she grabbed the bead necklace and pulled. Sonic started crying out and he pulled back on the necklace and he tried to hit her hand away.

Suddenly Mr Manning violently grabbed the boy's arms with bruising force.

"That's enough!" He shouted and Sonic started shaking in fear...

* * *

Back in the city, Shadow was trying to adjust to life without Sonic around.

In the past year he had grown more attached to the the blue hedgehog than anyone else in his life. But for some reason, he found that it was hard to move on with his life, unlike the other members of the team.

"So where's the little boy?" The butcher asked him.

Whenever Shadow took Sonic to the store, this butcher would give him an unwrapped piece of meat to let him feel and examine. The blue hedgehog would love to press and rub the meat against his face, almost as if he was blind.

"I'm sorry, but he's moved away." He sighed.

"Oh right." The butcher said sadly. "Well, I hope he's doing alright." He smiled weakly and the ebony hedgehog just nodded and turned around to leave the store with his groceries, only to freeze in shock.

Standing in front of him was Amy Rose.

"Well, well, if it isn't the famous linguist himself, and you've made quite a name for yourself." She sneered. "I read your little article that you got published, what was it now? _'Linguistic Development of the Modern Day Wild Child'_?"

"Yes." He glared.

"Catchy title, but a little insulting to Sonic, don't you think?" She hissed as she pulled out the article. "You claimed that Sonic can't formulate grammatically correct questions but that's a lie! When he lived with me, he asked grammatically correct questions all the time!"

Shadow refused to response as he continued to glare.

"Can you even prove that his father would hit him when he tried to vocalise?! That's not research, that's just you and our team making guesses!" She shouted before slamming to article to the ground and storming off...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW FOR UPDATE!**_


	15. A Crisis

**Chapter 15: A Crisis**

That morning the Mannings and their foster children were sat at the table, eating their breakfast. While the Mannings had some coffee and toast the children had orange juice and Cheerios.

"Sonic, would you like some bananas with your cereal?" Mrs Manning asked.

"No banana." He mumbled as he clutched his stomach. He couldn't explain it but his stomach hurt and he could feel something coming up his throat. It didn't take long for everyone else to notice his behaviour.

"I-I'll take him to the bathroom." Mina said as she started to sit up.

"No you won't." Mrs Manning glared and Mina quickly sat back down. "He's just exaggerating so he can leave early, no one is leaving this table until we've all finished our breakfast."

Suddenly Sonic vomited all over the table and their breakfast.

The Mannings and the other children watched in shock as he emptied his stomach. As soon as he was done, Mr Manning suddenly stood up, walked over to him and slapped him in the face...

* * *

That night Shadow went to visit Sonic. The reason he hadn't been soon was because he wanted to him to get settled first before he came to continue Sonic's lessons, but he was horrified by what he had heard.

It took all his willpower not to punch the Mannings in the face.

"And further more I told him he is not allowed to receive anymore visits from his mother." Mr Manning explained to Shadow as he and his wife talked with the hedgehog on their door step

"Why not?" He asked as calmly as possible.

"Because he looks forward to the visits." Mrs Manning said as if it was obvious and her husband nodded. "The only way to raise a child is to deprive it of something that it values."

"Mrs Manning, have you not been told that this boy has an unusual background?" He growled.

"We have two other foster children with equally unusual backgrounds." She glared. "And yet they don't go around vomiting all over people's food like a wild animal."...

* * *

Up in the attic, Susie and Sonic were up in their room. Sonic was curled up in his bed, facing the wall, while Susie was sat on her's, watching the blue hedgehog with worry.

"Sonic? Are you OK?" She whimpered, but he didn't move.

Just then the stairs creaked and Shadow came in. He immediately rushed to the boy's bed and gasped. The younger hedgehog was pale, sweaty with dark circles around his eyes and he pressed his lips into a thin line.

But what angered Shadow the most was the red hand print on his cheek.

"Hey there Sonic." He smiled softly and Sonic hugged him tightly before leaning back onto the bed. "I heard about your little accident, do you want to tell me about it?"

But Sonic shook his head and started shaking.

"Are you keeping your mouth closed like that because you are afraid of vomiting?" He asked and Sonic nodded. "Well, then you can use the sign language Miles taught you."

"Mr Manning doesn't want him to use sign language." Susie suddenly said.

"Mr Manning can go to hell!" Shadow shouted, but sighed when the girl and Sonic flinched away. "Don't tell Mr Manning I said that, I don't want him to take it out on Sonic."

Susie just nodded.

"Talk to me." The ebony hedgehog said firmly, but with concern, but Sonic covered his mouth with his hands. "Please Sonic, just talk to me." He pleaded but he shook his head.

Shadow just sighed...

* * *

The next day Shadow was immediately on the phone to Silver. After he had left the Mannings' house and came home the leash on his temper had snapped and he punched a wall.

Rouge had asked him what was wrong and she was just as angry when she found out.

"Silver, if you would just look her you would understand!" Shadow growled into the phone as Rouge watched from the kitchen. "Just take him back to the hospital, this home is the worst place you could of chosen.

Rouge flinched when she heard Silver shouting from the other end of the line.

"I'm not exaggerate in the slightest, this is a real crisis." He pushed and groaned as Silver argued. "We'll figure that out later, but first we need to get him out of there; right, thanks."

"Is he gonna help?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's gonna help."...

* * *

The next day Rouge went around with Shadow to the Mannings house.

When they got there Sonic refused to leave his room. While Shadow went to get Sonic out his room, Rouge was downstairs with Mrs Manning. While Shadow was upstairs Mrs Manning was making Rouge a glass of milk.

"So you're not married to Mr Doom?" The elder woman asked as she handed the glass to the bat.

"No, we're just dating right now." She smiled.

"But you already live together?"

"Yeah, we live in sin." She chuckled...

* * *

Up in the attic, Sonic was curled up in his bed, facing the wall as Shadow sat on the foot of his bed, gently rubbing his back. He didn't want to leave Rouge with Mrs Manning but he didn't want to over whelm the boy.

Susie was sat on her bed, watching them.

"Sonic? Buddy? Do not you want to see Rouge again? She's just downstairs with Mrs Manning and she really wants to see you again." He smiled but Sonic didn't move.

Suddenly Susie tugged on his sleeve.

"Sonic has been hurting himself." She whimpered and made scratching motions on her arms. "He does this all the time and he doesn't stop, even when the blood comes out."

Shadow's eyes widened.

"Sonic, can I see? Please?" He said and carefully turned the blue hedgehog onto his back and started rolling up his sleeves. He almost threw up when he saw the long slashes on Sonic's peach arms.

Some were still bleeding...

* * *

After seeing Sonic again Shadow drove right around to Sonic's Social worker, Espio's office. The purple chameleon was listening with a bot of a bored expression on his face.

Rouge attempted to get Miles' help but the kitsune couldn't do anything.

"If you made a visit to the Mannings, you would realise that he had to be moved immediately." Shadow pleaded. "It's terrible there! Sonic refuses to eat and he refuses to speak."

"It sounds likes he's the problem, not the foster parents."

"Do you know anything about this boy's unusual background?" The ebony hedgehog growled as he clenched his fists. "I think that you'll find that it is a unique case."

Espio just scoffed.

"All children are unique, do you see the files here?" He said and pointed to the large pile of files on his desk. "In each one there is a child; they have lost their parents, subjected to abuse..."

Shadow sighed.

"I feel for them all, but try to get into this child's story." He begged, starting to get desperate. "Then you would realise that Sonic Maurice is in a class all on his own."

"So the children should be divided into classes?"...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW FOR UPDATE!**_


	16. Rescued

**Chapter 16: Rescued**

After failing to get support from Sonic's social worker, Shadow drove straight to the Solaris house. He was now stood on their doorstep repeatedly pressing their doorbell and knocking on the door.

A very annoyed Silver answered the door.

"Just five minuets." The ebony hedgehog glared at is friend as he stood in the cold night. "Five minuets of your time, that's all I'm asking Silver, please." He pleaded.

Silver sighed and they went into his study.

"I understand that it was difficult, you and Blaze sacrificed a lot when Sonic lived here." He said. "You may not think I can understand it but I think I can and I understand why you don't want to get involved again."

"Shadow-"

"If I had any other way out, I would not ask you too do this." He said, the desperation now clearing in his voice. "If I was a doctor or a social worker, I could have brought him to the hospital, but I'm not."

Silver just sighed.

"Help me protect him from himself!" He exclaimed. "If you could only see how bad he is! Please Silver, no one else will do it."...

* * *

With Silver's help, Sonic was removed from the Mannings' house within the next twenty-four hours. He was immediately taken straight to the hospital for his injuries.

But he was still scared.

When Shadow visited him in the hospital he saw the smaller boy curled up in his bed. He had bandages around his wrists and was dressed in a children's hospital gown.

He placed his hand Sonic's shoulder, he almost jumped out the bed.

"Hey Sonic, it's just me." He whispered as softly as possibly and he pet his blue quills. Sonic just curled back up in a ball and stayed quiet as they day he first came in...

* * *

After several failed attempts to get Sonic to talk or to use sign language Shadow left his room to get something to drink. As he drank his coffee he saw Silver walking up to him with a woman.

It was a red haired chipmunk with a clipboard.

"Oh hey there Shadow, this is Sally Acorn." The ivory hedgehog smiled as Shadow and Sally shook hands. "She's the social worker who'll be taking over Sonic's case."

As Silver left, the hedgehog and the chipmunk went into the cafe to talk.

"I understand that you were also concerned about the other two children living with the Mannings and their cases are currently under investigation." She explained.

"It would be better if they had moved away from there." He sighed.

"Investigations take time and it will be easy to find new homes for them." She sighed. "As you probably know Sonic is harder, we need to make sure that this isn't repeated."

"I agree."

"I don't know how'd you react to this suggestion." She said nervously. "What do you think about Sonic living with you and Miss Valentine?" She asked with a hint of hope in her voice.

"What?"

"You two have a good relationship and you and Miss Valentine have known Sonic for quite a long time." She smiled. "You have a clear understanding of Sonic's needs, we'll probably never find anyone who knows him so well."...

* * *

That night, when he got home, Shadow and Rouge sat down and seriously talked about taking Sonic in. Rouge absolutely loved the idea but Shadow had his doubts.

"Why don't you wanna so this?" She asked.

"I do want to take him in, but he's very demanding." He reasoned. "It's not just about him but also about us; how are you going to graduate if you are going to take care of Sonic?"

"We'll think of something."...

* * *

The next day Shadow arrived at the hospital with Sonic's favourite rubber duck to tell the blue hedgehog the good news. He was now living with him. As he walked down the corridors a smile grew on his face.

But when he came to Sonic's room, he was shocked to find another family there.

"I'm so sorry, I must have the wrong room." He frowned slightly and quickly went to the front desk, only to find out he had been moved. "Where? To another hospital?"

"I don't know." The lady glared.

"When was he moved?!"

"He was moved this morning, that's all I know."

"Someone must have approved it." He growled at her.

"As a matter of fact he was accompanied by his mother."...

* * *

As soon as the lady at the front desk told him what Bernadette had done, Shadow got in his car and drove over to the lavender hedgehog's house to talk some sense into her.

When she opened the down she had a scowl on her face.

"He isn't here." He snarled before Shadow could say anything, already knowing why he was on her doorstep.

"Do you mind if I ask where he is?" The ebony hedgehog glared, trying to keep his temper in check.

"In a place of my own choosing and do not try to talk about what is good Sonic, you don't know what was good for Sonic and you never did!" She shouted in rage.

Shadow gritted his teeth angrily.

"I have driven all the way out here, can I please just come in and talk to you?!"...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW FOR UPDATES!**_


	17. Revenge

**Chapter 17: Revenge**

After Bernadette had let Shadow inside they both sat in the living room, silently facing and glaring at each other. Shadow remained as silent as possible as he waited to hear what she had to say.

You could see the tension it was so thick.

"The way you hounded that child." She finally said. "'Don't say it like this Sonic, say it like that', and all those tests you did on him; that's why he couldn't get along with the Mannings! You pushed him so much that he didn't know which way was up anymore!"

Shadow took a deep breath to cool his rage.

"Bernadette, that's just not true." He replied. "Sonic loved working with me and the others; there were days when I didn't even want to work and he made me go on."

But Bernie scoffed.

"Because that's the way you trained him." She glared daggers at the ebony hedgehog. "He was never really a person to you people, to you he was just a little science project."

Finally Shadow's defences fell down and tears built up in his eyes.

"No, you're so wrong Mrs Maurice." He sniffed as he fought the tears and looked her in the eyes. "I needed him in my life from the moment I first laid eyes on him."

That was no lie.

"Well you won't be laying eyes on him anymore." She spat coldly. "If you going anywhere near Sonic, I will contact my lawyer, that also goes for the Solaris family, Dr Prower, Miss Valentine and anyone else in the hospital; he is my son and I decide what's going to happen to him."

Shadow felt his world crumble.

"He is going to think that I deserted him." He said with pleading eyes, but her glare never faulted. "Please Bernadette, can I just say goodbye to him one last time?"

He could just see Sonic's distressed face when he found out Shadow wasn't coming back.

"No goodbyes, no nothing." She hissed. "Just go back to where you came from and stay there."

Shadow gritted his teeth as he glared at her. He then stood up, grabbed his bag and walked to the front door. But just before he left he turned to Bernie, who was still glaring at him.

He quickly wiped his tears away.

"Mrs Maurice, there's one thing I've always wanted to ask you but it never felt right to do it." He said as he took a breath. "Why? Why did your husband isolate Sonic?"

"I can't tell you that." She gasped.

"Can't or won't." He glared.

"How can I explain something when I don't understand it myself? No one understood Jules, except maybe his mother, this was her house long before it was Jules or mine."

As she talked Shadow carefully took a seat.

"When Sonic was a baby, we were as much here than we were at our own home. She seemed to belong in the wild west, even when she was old she carried a pistol; Jules was so fond of her, I think he loved her more than he loved me."

"She sounds like quite the character." Shadow chuckled.

"Yes she was." She smiled weakly, but it dropped. "Jules was never the same after she died, it happened right outside this door. She was walking across the street to get ice cream when she was hit by a drunk driver, killed instantly."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I swear she wasn't in the ground more than a week before Jules moved us all in here. He wanted to keep her room the way it was so we had to sleep in the living room, well, all except for Sonic, he had the room in the back, it was almost as if Jules was giving him some kind of special treatment."

"It sounds like he projected the feelings he felt for his mother onto Sonic." Shadow said and she frowned.

"One day I went to the doctors and the doctor told us Sonic might be retarded; that was it as far as Jules was concerned, he said if those doctors ever got a hold of Sonic we'd never get him back and that he'd probably never live pass the age of four."

Bernadette flinched as she remembered that day.

"But he just kept getting bigger and older, I was starting to go blind so Jules would take care of him, I knew Sonic needed help. Jules always walked around with the gun he inherited from his mother, the one he used to kill himself with in this room."

She sighed and smiled slightly.

"Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I'd hear the floor creaking in the silence and I can swear that it's Jules walking around Sonic's room with his gun in hand."

"He tried to protect Sonic as if he were a princess locked in a tower." Shadow realised.

"Jules never really trusted doctors." She sighed before glaring at him again. "In this respect, I have become like him."...

* * *

After his talk with Bernadette the lavender female walked him out and watched him walk down the driveway. He kept looking at the ground as tears flowed from his eyes.

"Good afternoon Shadow."

The ebony hedgehog looked up and saw Amy Rose walking up the driveway. He looked back at Bernie and saw her smiling at the teacher. It suddenly clicked in his mind.

"So how long's this been going on?" He growled.

"From the moment I read that little article of your's about Sonic." She smirked as she walked right passed. "I just thought Mrs Maurice should know the kind of people looking after her son.

It was then the flood gates opened.

 **"THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT ARTICLE! YOU WERE JUST LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE!"** He shouted at her. **"YOU DIDN'T CARE WHAT IT WAS JUST AS LONG AS IT HELPED YOU GET SONIC BACK!"**

Amy suddenly turned to him with a glare.

"And no thanks to you and your pathetic team poisoning Social Services against I never will!" She cried as she and Bernie went back inside. "Who's sorry now?!"

All Shadow could was stand there in the cold rain...

* * *

 _ **READ AND REVIEW FOR UPDATES!**_


	18. Hush Little Baby

**Chapter 18: Hush Little Baby**

Shadow sighed as he adjusted his thin glasses. He was going over his files on his desk in the lecture hall at the college he taught at. He sighed as he closed his eyes and let his head dropped.

Suddenly the bell rang.

Shadow quickly stood up as dozens of college students flooded in. He calmly waited for them to take their seat before he turned to the whiteboard to begin his lesson.

All the students went quiet when he cleared his throat.

"Today we will be discuss about the ability to learn and understand language; language is the method of communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way, but language is not just words, it's grammar and sentences and how you automatically know something is a sentence."

He sighed as he turned on the projector.

"Now, we're going to be looking at a special case known as the Genie Project." He said and a picture of Sonic when he was first found appeared. "When we think of a genie we think of a magical being who has been imprisoned in a bottle or lamp, only to be released into a whole new world."...

* * *

After another day at work Shadow returned home to his wife Rouge and two daughters Maria and Ruby.

After Maria was born Rouge decided to quick college to be a stay at home mother. Maria was 5 and Ruby was 2 months. Little Maria was a black hedgehog with a tanned muzzle, white streaks in her quills and aqua blue eyes.

Baby Ruby was a dark red bat with bright crimson red eyes.

Shadow was sat in the living room, looking over the work he had done with Sonic again. Although it has been a long time, almost 7 years to be exact, he still hopes that he'll meet Sonic again.

When he thought about it, he would wonder what to say to him.

He would ask forgiveness because he disappeared so the boy understood that it was not his fault. Then he would ask what he's doing and if he's happy and he'd hope, of course, that he answered yes.

Shadow sighed as he looked at Sonic's rubber duck, the only thing had had of the boy.

Bernadette' cataracts had returned and she now resided in a nursing home in the city. She still refuses to let Shadow, Rouge or anyone from their old team Sonic.

The last time he saw the lavender hedgehog she was with Amy Rose.

Shadow growled as he thought about the pink female. Amy continued to harass Shadow, Silver, Miles and all their families until her sudden death last year in a car accident.

Even though he hated her, he felt bad for her unfortunate death.

The last he had heard of Sonic, he was told the teen had been moved into an adult care home. Sonic's inability to master a language proved the legitimacy of the critical period hypothesis.

In any case, he wanted to give Sonic all he lost over the years.

Now he was a father he knew what love truly meant. But he knew it wasn't possible. He could only concentrate on things he could control. It is the same for all of us.

Suddenly Ruby started crying upstairs.

"I'll get her." He called to his wife in the kitchen before getting up. He carefully stepped over Maria and her dolls and went up the stairs to his daughter's nursery.

Once inside he picked her up and gently rocked her.

 _ **Hush little baby, don't say a word**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna buy you a mocking bird**_

 _ **And if that mocking bird don't sing**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring**_

 _ **And if that diamond ring turns to brass**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass**_

 _ **And if that looking glass is broke**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna buy you a velvet cloak**_

 _ **And if that velvet cloth is course**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna buy you a rocking horse**_

 _ **And if that rocking horse won't rock**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna buy you a coo coo clock**_

 _ **And if that coo coo clock won't tick**_  
 _ **Papa's gonna buy you a walking stick**_

 _ **And if that walking stick falls down**_  
 _ **You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town...**_

* * *

 **(BASED ON TRUE EVENTS)**

 _ **THE END**_


End file.
